It's been about a decade since a former South Texas law firm operator was indicted on allegations of theft, money laundering and accused of posing as both an officer and a lawyer.

Now after a slew of judges, attorneys and appeals, the last case against Mauricio Celis has been dismissed.

"I'm glad that after 10 years our justice system has finally prevailed," Celis said in a statement. "I want to thank my attorneys for all the hard work as well as my family for their support."

Celis originally had faced several felony counts: falsely holding himself out as a lawyer, aggravated perjury, theft and money laundering, and impersonating a public servant.

He's long maintained that while he is a licensed lawyer in Mexico, he never portrayed himself to be an attorney in the U.S.

The last remaining case, in which Celis was accused of posing as a peace officer, , was dismissed Thursday. Court records show 148th District Court Judge Guy Williams dismissed the case at the request of First Assistant Matt Manning.

In 2010, a jury convicted Celis of falsely identifying himself as a peace officer, a misdemeanor. But Celis appealed, the conviction was overturned and a new trial was ordered.

Manning sought the latest dismissal and others because the lead investigator in the attorney general's office who obtained a search warrant has invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid testifying in the cases.

"Upon review of affidavits provided by both a prosecutor in that case and the defense attorneys in review of the investigation on all of the related cases, it was deemed appropriate to dismiss this case because the same chief investigator whose search warrant was suppressed in one of the related cases was integrally involved in this case," Manning said of Thursday's dismissal.